Shock-absorber



H. A. DANFORTH.

SHOCK ABSMORBER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. 1916.

Patented Sept. M9 192%.,

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SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLlcATmN FILED MARA 2o, 191e.

m. Lob/lm 4 MM wn/ym .EN 0 f t MH 4M m yf m .w wv #far/@H UNITED STATES HABLAND' A. DANFORTH, OF SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOCK-ABSORBER.

specification of Letters Patent.. Patented Sept, 14, 1920.

Application led March 20, 1916. Serial No. 85,840.

T all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARLAND A. Da N- FORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sau s, in the county of Essex'and State of assachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock- Absorb'ers, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates to shock absorbers especially adapted for vehicles. It 1 s designed particularly to construct a device of the nature where the unevenness of roads which occurs during the ordinary travel will be taken up by the spring of the vehicle to which the present invention is applied. The exceptional orviolent shocks and the like are taken up by the shock absorber; the said shock absorber being so constructed that when the body of the vehicle is out of support of the springs a centrifugal device is so' arranged that it is operated by the vibration of the vehicle for counteracting the vforce of the said vibration. This action allowsl the body of the vehicle to find its support on the springs without a violent shock, which otherwise would deliver a hammer blow and tend to destroy the spring and also injure other parts of the Vehicle:

Referring to theV figures, l Figure #1 is a side elevation of a vehicle. Fig. #2 isa partial plan view of the chassis of a vehicle with the shock absorbers in position. v Fig. #3 is a side elevation of a vehicle spring with the shock absorber-in position.

Fig. #4 is an end view of the same. Fig. #5 is a side elevation of the shock absorber.

. Fig. #6 is a horizontal section showing the operating gears of the shock absorber. Fig. #7 is a vertical section of the shock absorber. y l

Fig. #8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 on the line the supporting spring 14 is secured. The ends of the spring are pivotally connected to the chassis frame 15.

The embodiment of the invention lies in a shock absorber 16 whichv controls the vibration of the body of the vehicle by centrifugal force, and the construction is such as to control :the downward movement of the car when it is most needed to prevent ham` `nier blows of the vehicle body against the axle which weakens the springs and causes them to break. The shock absorber is connected to the frame `and sprin 14 by the arms 17 and 18 respectively. he arm 18 is cast with the shock' absorber casing 16 but is free to lswing on the fulcrum v19 located on the bracket 2O which is secured to The device consists of a box .25 searm 17 to move up or down accordin to the conditions against the springs 27. he end of the arm 17 is'enlarged as. indicated by 28, and is provided with a hole 29 which is adapted to receive a pin 30 which also extends through and is held in position in the ends of the box. By this'construction a limited movement of the vehicle body will be communicated to the shock absorber and the vibration willbe taken up both by the shock absorber and the "spring 14. When the vi bration of the vehicle body becomes exces-- sive,- due to the uneven condition ofthe road over which the vehicle travels, the increased vibration of the vehicle body, willbe instantly communicated to the .shock absorber, which will 'be controlled automatically according tothe strength of vibration.

- The arm 17 at its lower extremity is formed' into a segmental gear 35 which. .meshes with a pinion gear 36. These gears `are inclosed; in a casing 37. The shock absorber casingrmisformed in two 4parts and held together by bolts. Located they casby the pin 55.

ing is a train of gears 38, 39, .40, 41, 42, 43 and 44. These gears are rotated by the pinion gear 36 and segmental gear 35. The latter is caused to rotate due to the changing distance between the chassis frame 15 and spring 14. That is, the arm 17 moves up and down as the distance changes which rotates the gears, and in turn rotate the centrifugal governor weights by a special designed construction.

They gear 44 is secured to the shaft 48 which has a bearing between the division line of the casing. Thisv construction allows the mechanism to be assembled. The governor or speed responsive device is loosely mounted on the shaft 48. The speed responsive device consists of the weights 46 and 47 which are pivotally secured to the sleeves 50 and 5l by means of links. Formed on the sleeve 51 is a ratchet Wheel 52 which coperates with the ratchet 53 for rotating lthe speed responsive device at the period that the vibrationis the most destructive. The ratchet is pivotally secured to the disk 54 which isi-rigidly secured to the shaft 48 Although the sleeve 51 is loose on the shaft 48 it is held from axial movement by the collar 56 on one end and the disk 54 on the other. secured to the shaft 48 by a pin.

The sleeve 50 is loose on the shaft 48 and is free to move axially. Formed on the sleeve 50 is a brake disk 60 which coperates with the stationary disk 61 for increasing the effectiveness of the shock absorbing elements, and also prevents them from racing, t-hat is, when the weights 46 and 47 are thrown outwardly by the centrifugal force, the. disk 60 is drawn toward the disk 61 be- The collar 56 is .fore the maximum power is expended, and

vided with elongated hubs 65 and 66 which afford a strong support for holding them in position'when the rotating disk is operating against them. The disk-61 is adjusted and held from axial movement by 'the pins 67 j and 68. The pins are `free to rotate in thedisk and are held in position by collars on either side. The pins 67 and 68-are free to rotate to permitthe said disk to be adjusted outside the casing. The pins are held in relation to the disk by collars. They are held in position by lock nuts. The disks'are made in two parts, one of which is providedsivith a grooveand registers with aprojection 76 formed on the other part. By this construction assembling is facilitated. e

In operation, when the vehicle is traveling on a road and under normal conditions the vibrations are taken up by the springs where violent shocks are taken up by the shock absorber. W'hen the` wheels strike an obstruction they are raised and the vibration is irst taken up by the springs until it travels such a distance that it passes the elastic limit of the said sprino` and the movement is imparted to the body of the vehicle. The momentum plus the distended condition of the sprin forces the body upwardly thereby overpul ing the spring in the opposite direction, which momentarily forces the body of the vehicle out of support, after which it falls downwardly,

and the resultant forces produce a hammer blow against the axle which tends to destroy the springs.

To obviate this condition the shock absorber is so connected to the frame 15 and spring 14 that a counteracting force is put in motion which permits the body of thel vehicle to settle down into support onthe spring with the least possible amount of vibration. That is, if the velocity of the downward movement of the 4supporting member is at a maximum, the counteraction which is determined by this movement will be in proportion to the maximum or direct action of the body, and at all times the counteraction is available when it is most needed. For instance, if the distance decreases between the frame 15 and spring 14, the movement causing this change in distance forces the arm 17 downwardly which causes the segmental gear 55 to rotate, which in turn causes the speed responsive device, of which the weights 46 and 47 are the effective members, vto rotate, and as the'speed of the weight increases they are thrown outwardlywhich causes an increase of counteracting force at the period itv is needed to Vbring the vibrating members into an equilibrium.

In detail operation the segmentalgear 35 moves downwardly sufficiently to rotate the gear 36 one revolution. rotation is imparted to the gears 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and shaft 48. As the disk 54 on which the ratchet is mounted is fast on the shaft it als'o rotates and causes the said ratchet to engage the ratchet wheel and impart a similar -movement thereto as the ratchetwheel is part of the speedV responsive device. Itjis obvious 'that the weights 46 and 47 are lrotated in onev directiononly, and that-it is in thedirection for the direct weight of the downward moving body to be in time and proportion to the counteracting force andeliminate the destructive shocks and vibration caused by the unbalancing. of the supporting and supported members.

To prevenet the weight from overspeeding, the, disk is brought into frictional contact The movement of with thefdisk 6'1- by the outward movement of the weights 46 and 47. Any number of' gears or any size weights can be'used to obtain sufiicient counteracting force to prevent y patent statutes, Ihave described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried outby other means. vWhat I claim'as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. A shock absorber secured to a body and to a exible support, comprising a centrifugal means operated by the vibrations of the body for counteracting the lforce of the vibration.

2. A shock absorber secured to a body and to a flexible support, comprising a centrifugal means operated by the vibrations of the body andan auxiliary means for retarding the speed of the said centrifugal means.

3. A shock absorber for vehicles secured to a spring and to a frame, comprising a centrifugal means operated by the vibration of the frame for counteracting the force of the vibration for the purpose specified.

4. A shock absorber for vehicles secured to-a spring and to a frame, comprising a centrifugal means operated by the vibration of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, and a second means for relieving sudden strains on theeentrifugal means. v

5. A shock absorber 'for vehicles secured to a spring and to a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with the casing and the other to the said casing lthe opposite* ends of the arms connested te' the spring andthe frame, and a.

centrifugal means' in the casing operated by the vibrations of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration for the purpose specified.

6. A shock absorber for vehicles secured to a spring and to a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with the casing and the other pivotally secgredto'the'said casing, the opposite ends o the arms connected to the spring and the frame, a centrifugal means in the casing operated by the vibrationv of the `frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, and means connected to oneof the arms for relievingv sudden strains on the centrifugalmeans.

7 A shockabsorber for vehicles secured to a springend to a lframe, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with the casing and the other pivotally secured to the said casing, the opposite ends of the arms connected to the spring and the casing, a 'centrifugal means in the casing operated by the vibrations of the frame for counteracting lthe force of the said vibration, a boX on the frame, one of the arms extending into the box, springs in the box on either side, of the arm for relieving sudden strains on the cen-- trifugal means. l 8, A shock absorber for vehicles, secured toa sprmg and to a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with thecasing and the other pivotally secured to the said casing, the opposite ends of arms connected to the spring and the frame, a gear onone of the armsgears coperating with gear on the arm, a centrifugal means driven by the gears which is operated by the vibration of the frame 'for counteracting the force of the said vibration for` the purpose specified.

` 9. A shock absorber for vehicles secured to a spring and to a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with the casing and the other pivotally secured to the said casing, the opposite ends of arms connected to the springand the frame, a gear on one of the arms, gears cooperating with gear on the arm, a centrifugal means driven by the gears which is operated by the vibration of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, and means for retarding the speed of the centrifugal device-for the purpose specied. p

10. .A shock absorber for vehicles, secured to a spring and to a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid'with the casing and the other pivotally secured to the said c'asing, the opposite ends of arms connected to the spring and the framea gear on one of they arms, gears cooperating with gear on the arm, a centrifugal means driven by the gears, which is operated by the vibration of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, a disk operated by the centrifugal device, and. a stationary disk secured to the casing for retarding the speed.v

of the centrifugaldevice, for the purpose specified.

1l. A shock absorber for vehicles, secured to a spring and a frame, comprising a casing, two arms, one rigid with the caslng and the other pivotally secured to the said casing, the opposite ends of arms connected tol the spring and the frame, a gear on one of the arms, gears cooperating with gear on the arm, a centrifugal means driven by the gears, which is operated by the vibration of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, a disk operated by the centrifugal device, a stationary disk secured to 4 the casing, and means for adjusting the stationary disk for the purpose specified.

12, A shock absorber for veh'cles secured toa spring/and to a frame, comprising a caslng, two arms, one rigid wlth'the casin vand the other-l pivotally secured to the sai casing, the opposite ends of arm'sbconnected to the spring and the franje, a gear on one end of the arms, gears coperatingiwitha.

gear on the arm, a centrifugal means driven by the gears which is operated by the vibra- 5 tion of the frame for counteracting the force of the said vibration, a disk operated by the centrifugal device, a stationary disk secured to the casing', studs threaded in the casing on which the stationary disk is free to slide, and pins free to turn in the disk and threaded into and through the casing for adjusting the stationary diskfor the purpose specified.

HARLAND A. DANFORTH. 

